Felicity Huffman Says She Feels ‘Eternal Shame’ For Her Role In The College Admissions Scandal
Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman has finally been sentenced for her role in the ongoing college admissions scandal. Huffman, a mother of two and the wife of William H. Macy, was pale and stoic as she walked into court on Friday, wearing a plain, navy blue dress and light makeup. The star held hands with her husband as the press surrounded her prior as she arrived at the courthouse.
Her waiting and wondering are now complete, as Huffman now knows exactly how much time she’ll spend behind bars. The judge ended up choosing a lighter sentence than was recommended by the prosecution, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Huffman pleaded guilty to a fraud-related conspiracy charge after she admitted to paying $15,000 to have her older daughter’s SAT exam answers corrected in 2017. She did this with the hope that her daughter would have a better shot getting into her college of choice, despite the fact that she was struggling with the math portion of the test. She also considered committing the same crime for her younger daughter but backed out.
The prosecution, in this case, wanted Huffman to spend one month in prison, have a year of probation, and pay a $20,000 fine. While the actress was sentenced to only 14 days behind bars, she will also pay a $30,000 fine, spend a year of supervised release, and have to complete 250 hours of community service.
Huffman was accepting of her sentence and showed remorse for the crime.
“I broke the law. I have admitted that and I pleaded guilty to this crime. There are no excuses or justifications for my actions. Period,” she said.
In court, the star recalled the guilt she felt when driving her daughter to the SAT testing site in 2017. She almost turned around, but in the end, chose to follow through with the plan.
NEW: Actress Felicity Huffman leaves a Boston court alongside her husband, actor William H. Macy, after the "Desperate Housewives" star was sentenced to 14 days in prison in connection to the "Varsity Blues" college entrance scandal. https://t.co/J7CKVrovwy pic.twitter.com/uQQeULzAjg
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) September 13, 2019
“I thought to myself, ‘Turn around. Just turn around.’ To my eternal shame, I didn’t,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
In a letter to Judge Indira Talwani, who presided over this case, Huffman explained her reasoning for committing the crime. As The Inquisitr previously reported, Huffman said that while she initially thought that what she was doing was helping her daughter, her actions tore her family apart.
“I felt an urgency which built to a sense of panic that there was this huge obstacle in the way that needed to be fixed for my daughter’s sake. As warped as this sounds now, I honestly began to feel that maybe I would be a bad mother if I didn’t do what Mr. [Rick] Singer was suggesting.”
Huffman’s actions have reportedly caused trauma for her daughter, who was heartbroken that her mother did not believe in her and her ability to succeed on her own.
